


useless machines

by sdlonyernayr



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, F/M, Fantasy, M/M, Multi, Other, Parental Abuse, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Feels, Stucky - Freeform, bucky only has one arm, death mentions, illness mentions, improvised, major deaths, miss peregrine's home for peculiar children au, the pre-set tags make me laugh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-20 14:25:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8252371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sdlonyernayr/pseuds/sdlonyernayr
Summary: when school was over, bucky was out faster than he could wish his teacher goodbye. thinking back on it, if he had known it would be the last time he consumed himself in the safe haven that was school, he would have done something differently. it wasn’t clear what that would be– helping some niners to their bus, hopelessly signing up for every club he could find, or even assisting one of his old teachers with marking –but he just knew he would have.





	

repetition was something so prominent to james buchanan barnes’ daily routine that it would have suited the position of his middle name. on weekdays, he found himself waking up for school _ **(**_ often earlier than his whole home, considering he despised being around while his father had a hangover _**)**_ , keeping close to his only friend _**(**_ natasha romanoff _ **)**_ , then coming home when it was dark and nobody was awake to hear him enter. usually, his end goal was not to be seen by his father for the entire day ; normally, it would work wonders. but not today. has one ever woken up with the feeling that something was missing? despite having no record of what the outcome of the day’s events might be, hath one never felt a dreaded itch in the back of their mind that something might be wrong? with that thought in mind, bucky dragged himself out of bed and picked some clothes off the floor of his tiny bedroom: jeans and a t-shirt straining the name of a band so old he couldn’t quite recall their significance. grabbed a bagel, smeared it with butter, and nearly forgot his knapsack before heading out on his morning walk to school.

his house definitely didn’t look problematic. it was a bungalow, small and cozy-looking from the outside. certainly nobody could ever have suspicions on the family life inside. thanks to his mother and his sisters, it was kept in tiptop shape, although whenever he was around he would try his best to help. the assistance he thought to offer was a drastic range of things, from cleaning the dishes to taking a beating from the man of the house. each time was one for the team, for they all needed shelter and his father’s paycheck was what kept them alive. some people would argue – scratch that, natasha would argue that the shit he took wasn’t fair, especially with the absence of his arm. income wasn’t a problem in his household, which didn’t explain why his family had never invested in a prosthetic or medical care for his shoulder stump. what he had figured out years ago was if any authority knew about what really happened to his arm, nobody would let his father live it down ; he and his sisters would be taken away and according to romanoff, foster care was not the best place to spend your life. she had been one of the lucky girls, having been adopted at the very young age of five through the indulgence the couple had with her ballet talent, angelic beauty, and, even at that age, the potential that shone through her green hues. when asked, natasha would tell him that she knew right away whether or not to give the young couple her all–  that some force pulled her in the right direction. considering the circumstances she ended up having, he wasn’t in complete denial of the universe favouring her in the moment she explained.

during the first few weeks of high school, even he had hated her and her devilish glare. thought she was stuck up like all the other rich girls in school and it didn’t help that she blended into every clique she decided to hang out with. nobody could say no to her and for someone like bucky, who, back then, got hateful stares because of something he couldn’t quite control, that was an automatic unfriend request. how the richest girl in school and the _**[** _ soon-to-be _**]** _ stud without an arm became best friends within that first month of freshman year was beyond him.

period two was when he would first see natasha, considering they didn’t have any time in the mornings between rushing to use their lockers and the bathrooms before having to get to class. physics was the first time of the day he would genuinely smile and get to indulge himself in the bottomless pit of fantasy-based stories that was natasha romanoff. while they were doing their textbook work that was far too easy for the both of them, she would recite things her foster grandpa would have told her during her time away from bucky. the stories that fell from her mouth were ones of mythical creatures, looping timelines, and homes away from home. things that seemed like they belonged in a fiction novel, far away from the tongues of the elders, which is why she would always tell him how her grandpa was “ the best kind of off your rocker there was. ” today, there was none of that.

natasha was nowhere to be found.

“ hey, tony, ” the one guy who probably knew where she was, “ do you know where nat is? ”

“ she wasn’t in first period, but word around the school is that she’s in greece with her parents for the week, ” the billionaire was busy reading up on the optics chapter.

“ do you know how long she’ll be? ” bucky didn’t mean to be so protruding but he really did think rich people kept tabs on each other whenever they could.

“ from the time i finish my sentence to how long it takes you to stop breathing down my neck, she’ll be back. ” 

huh.

when school was over, bucky was out faster than he could wish his teacher goodbye. thinking back on it, if he had known it would be the last time he consumed himself in the safe haven that was school, he would have done something differently. it wasn’t clear what that would be– helping some niners to their bus, hopelessly signing up for every club he could find, or even assisting one of his old teachers with marking –but he just knew he would have.

as he ran off campus and towards the main neighbourhood, where tall houses stood with more stories than he had probably read in his life, he felt the cold fall air tangling in his lungs. he breathed, begged his body not to give out on him before he got to the romanoff residence. despite the weight lost from the absence of his arm, he was well built for his age. at sixteen, he would often workout with natasha in her basement, where all the equipment was held. they encouraged each other to keep a routine, especially since she told him her grandpa told her to always be in the best shape in case she ever had to fight off eyeball-eating monsters in the dark. 

her house was about a twenty minute walk, meaning she could take a morning stroll to the school, but her parents weren’t the most eco-friendly people. once he was on her doorstep, he was able to bend over with his hands on his knees and breath audibly. the ground beneath his feet felt like ramen noodles. with a peek off her porch, he made a mental note that no cars were parked in the driveway, but that didn’t shush the possibility of them being parked in her garage. _ **(**_ the house was so big they could have parked their cars inside it without blockage to their normal routines. _**)** _ tony said she was in greece, but that didn’t stop him from knocking on her door over twenty times and ringing the bell ten. there was no answer, not even anyone jogging down the steps or arguing aloud about who had to answer the door.

his greyish hues took the bait, hardening at the sudden panic that arose in his chest.

he glanced around for any passers, waiting until the coast was completely clear before dipping down to fish the apre key out from underneath the welcome mat. upon attempting to unlock the door, he was faced with the sudden realization that it wasn’t locked. the house was completely open for robberies or burglaries and it was one of the biggest on the block.

an uncomfortable quietness settled on his shoulders, a cold breeze blowing past him as he turned the knob and gently pushed the door open. it slid slowly, revealing the empty lobby within.

he licked over his chapped lips and ran a shaky hand through his jaw-shaping hair. _**(**_   _how long has it been since you’ve groomed yourself?_ tony would always ask as if it was his business. _**)**_

his footsteps were small amongst the monster that was natasha’s house. he had a feeling taking off his shoes, or any polite gesture for that matter, wasn’t going to be needed. eyebrows did a fine job of hooding his eyes from the weakness of youth as he scoured the house, looking for traces of people or where they had gone. he checked all around the lobby, kitchen, bedrooms, several bathrooms, dining room, living room, even the gym-basement and indoor pool areas. what caught his eye only on the second runthrough was the glass door that led to the patio. he didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed before, but the glass was shattered, and the exterior lining ripped to shreds. to anyone standing outside _**(**_ which there wasn’t _**)**_ , they would be able to see his whole body through the altercation. a kid staring helplessly outside in search of the only friend– the only family –he had ever had.

then it hit him.

halloween was just around the corner, something every teenager lived and strived for. _**(**_ bucky wasn’t a big fan because his family weren’t big fans. often on the special night, their house would be the only one with its lights off, isolated at the dead end of his neighbourhood. in turn, it would get toilet paper and eggs thrown at it by children who claimed it was too spooky to leave unharmed. _ **)**_ natasha wasn’t exactly the type to hate such a tradition and if his calculations were correct– “ this isn’t fucking funny, nat! ” his hand was shaking and so was the laugh that braved its way out of his sinking throat, smirk tight on his lips. “ i get it– it’s a prank, you got me. now come out, ” the poor boy was calling, making his way towards the broken screen. there were several doubts in his mind that his best friend wouldn’t be waiting for him on the other side– waiting to laugh her ass off at how scared he was. his footsteps seemed to be in slow motion, voice gradually turning lower, “ _please_ , natasha. come out and just let me see you, i need to know you’re h-here. ” his chest was screaming for air, eyes dry in the sudden panic from before squeezing at his heart at a more devastating rate.

he reached the door, holding onto the sharp edge so tight he could feel the glass breaking into his skin. a harsh breeze blew past him, vision blurring as it tried to take a polaroid of the elongated backyard before him. he was swaying with worry, but not enough to catch any stray bodies standing around. even awaited some laughter in a short, dizzying moment before he would join his chest in its screams of agony, yelling out into the scene, “ _natasha!_ ”

**Author's Note:**

> if you haven't figured it out yet, this is loosely to moderately based off of miss pergerine's home for peculiar children. mind you, it's 3 in the morning right now where i am, so bear with me on any typos or stupid mistakes. i haven't read the books, only saw the movie and got inspired, so this is based off of the movie alone ( i'm sorry in advance ). all in all, i have a very scattered plot in my mind that i haven't gotten to writing down yet, so things may alter and become improvised in the future c: this is just the beginning, folks! be sure to gimme some feedback on whether or not i should continue this. ( seriously, this is only like 1/10000000000 of the plot right here. )
> 
> p.s. i will also update iou when i have the chance, sorry about my inactiveness :(
> 
> p.p.s. this chapter was really just character and plot development. a glimpse into bucky's life, composure, personality, affiliations, and appearance in this au, or at least how i interpret it.


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